The Boston Camerata

The Play of Daniel The Boston Camerata combines with the local choir Te Deum to realize a new staging of the Play of Daniel that is unique to Kansas City. Artistic director Anne Azéma breathes new life into this 13th century liturgical drama depicting the biblical stories of Belshazzar's Feast and Daniel in the lions’ den.

Program

The Play of Daniel

Biography

The Boston Camerata is America's preeminent early music ensemble. Founded in 1954, The Boston Camerata has been under the direction of French-born singer and scholar Anne Azéma since autumn, 2008.

Camerata's musical performances are well known for their blending of spontaneity and emotional commitment with careful research and scholarship. With its distinguished roster of singers and specialists in early instruments, Camerata produces an in-town concert series for audiences in the Greater Boston area. The Boston Camerata also tours regularly in the US and all over the world. These live performances present vital, historically informed performances of European music of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque eras, and of early American music, sacred and secular.

The Camerata's many LP and CD recordings, as well as its numerous media appearances and educational projects, have brought its work to audiences in every continent.

Anne Azéma, Artistic Director

​French born vocalist Anne Azéma is the Artistic Director of The Boston Camerata. She also directs the Europe-based Ensemble Aziman. She has been acclaimed by critics on five continents for her original, passionate, and vivid approach to songs and texts of the Middle Ages. De Volkskrant, an Amsterdam publication, noted that “Azéma is, in her genre, as great as Callas or Fischer Dieskau.”Anne Azéma has also been widely praised in many other repertoires, from Renaissance lute songs to Baroque sacred music to twentieth-century music theatre.

Anne Azéma has been not only the performer but also the creator of her programs. She researches and edits the repertoire, frequently transcribing the material herself from original sources. Ms. Azéma’s most recent work is the production of The Night’s Tale: A Tournament of Love, the result of a residency at the Arsenal Metz during the 2005-2007 seasons and based on Le Tournoi de Chauvency, written circa 1310. The CD of this production was issued late in 2007 in France to critical acclaim.

Anne Azéma has appeared as a soloist with numerous ensembles, large and small, early and contemporary. She is also the co-founder of the Camerata Mediterranea, touring with them internationally and appearing on all of their CD's. Her recent festival invitations as a soloist, recitalist or director include: Amsterdam, Graz, Dresden, Leipzig, Utrecht, Spoleto, Seville, Versailles, Jerusalem, Berlin, Boston, Bergen, Ambronay, Casablanca, Perth, Wellington, Kyoto, Tanglewood, and Tokyo.

Among her teaching activities are master classes, seminars and residencies at conservatories and universities in France, Holland, Mexico and the U.S. Recent U.S. residencies include semesters as Distinguished Artist in Residence at both the University of Oregon, Eugene, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She has been guest lecturer at Boston University, McGill University, the University of Georgia (Athens), the University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee), and the Boston Conservatory of music. In Europe, she has taught and directed master classes at conservatories in Amsterdam, the Hague, and Tilburg (Netherlands), Metz and Strasbourg (France). In the company of philologist and Professor Emeritus Pierre Bec, and colleagues Joel Cohen and Shira Kammen, she co-directed the well-known summer course in medieval monody at Coaraze (France, 1997-2006). She has contributed articles to scholarly and general audience publications and maintains a very active international touring schedule.

A key member of The Boston Camerata for many seasons, Anne Azéma began her tenure as the ensemble Artistic Director in the fall of 2008.